WASHINGTON Donald J. Trump on Sunday intensified his claims that the presidential campaign is rigged against him, sowing doubts about the integrity of the countrys democratic process even as his own running mate and other Republican leaders sought to assure voters they viewed the election as legitimate.

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The election is absolutely being rigged by the dishonest and distorted media pushing Crooked Hillary but also at many polling places SAD, Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter on Sunday.

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Mr. Trump made his incendiary claim just hours after his running mate, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, had tried to play down the Republican nominees increasingly heated questions about the fairness of the election. Mr. Pence said on NBCs Meet the Press that he and Mr. Trump will absolutely accept the result of the election.

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The governor, in a series of Sunday television interviews, sought to portray Republican criticism of the electoral process as relating entirely to what he described as unfair media coverage. He was attempting to not only stir conservative partisans but also reassure Republican officials and others nervous about Mr. Trumps comments that they were not going outside the boundaries of mainstream American political discourse.

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It was enough to prompt the House speaker, Paul D. Ryan, who just last week vowed to remove himself entirely from the presidential campaign, to issue a statement. Our democracy relies on confidence in election results, and the speaker is fully confident the states will carry out this election with integrity, said Mr. Ryans spokeswoman, AshLee Strong.